Identification and Management of Persistent Stimulation-Induced Dyskinesia Associated with STN DBS: The See-Saw Dilemma

CLINICAL VIGNETTE: A 73-year-old woman with Parkinson’s disease (PD) underwent implantation of bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulators (STN-DBS) to address bilateral upper extremity medication-refractory tremor. Post-operatively, she experienced a “see-saw effect” where small increases in stimulation resulted in improvement in one symptom (tremor) with concurrent worsening in another (dyskinesia). CLINICAL DILEMMA: SID is usually considered a positive predictor of DBS outcome. However, there are cases where SID cannot be optimized. Lead location and pre-operative characteristics may contribute to this adverse effect. If the combination of programming and medication adjustments fails to resolve SID, what can be done to “rescue” the outcome? CLINICAL SOLUTION: Management of SID requires a gradual and steadfast programming approach. Post-operative lead localization can guide advanced programming and decision-making. Rescue surgical interventions may be considered. GAP IN KNOWLEDGE: In cases where SID is persistent despite deploying persistent optimization strategies, there is limited guidance on next steps.